COLUMBIA, S.C. — The new state agency in charge of health services in the state says they plan to fix issues in South Carolina's health care system when the DHEC split goes into effect.
The split will create a new Department of Public Health and a separate Department of Environmental Services, which will allow both agencies to focus their resources, says Acting Director of the new Department of Public Health Dr. Edward Simmer.
"I have told our team that our goal is to be the number one state for health across all the various measures," said Dr. Simmer in a press conference Monday morning. "I am absolutely convinced that we can get there by working with thousands of community groups all across our state and tailoring our service and giving them the resources they need again, enabling them to take the actions they need to do to improve their health."
The state is currently ranked among the lowest in health, according to America's Health Rankings.
The Department of Public Health will be launching a new website, and their headquarters will be at the Mills Building, formerly the South Carolina State Hospital. According to the DPH, they'll have over 2,900 employees in around 90 locations around the state. The agency plans to use those resources to target issues where the state falls short.
"So I think it's a combination of chronic illness, food insecurity, lack of access to good health care," Dr. Simmer says. "We have counties where less than half of the moms today get adequate prenatal care, and that does not lead to good outcomes."
While the agency will be separating from environmental services, the DPH is also preparing to combine with other health agencies should a bill pass next session that would create one "Executive Office of Health and Policy." A bill sponsored by Senator Tom Davis would have done just that, but it died on the last day of session.
“I mean, individuals with a substance abuse problem, for instance, might have mental health problems, or somebody that has a mental health problem might be related to Department on Aging and some of their dementia care," said Senator Davis. So it's a recognition that these particular public health services have some overlap in the populations, and right now, we have a very inefficient way of delivering those public health services."
The fragmentation of these offices are something the new DPH would like to address, according to Dr. Simmer.
"It would be great if you could call one phone number and get an appointment with us and with mental health and with a substance use treatment center, if you could get one phone call that would hook you up with all those things, I think that would be a huge improvement for the people we serve."